Chesterton boys track coach John Snyder knows his team is a year or two away from competing with the best team’s in the area.

So the first year coach sets his sights on the Trojans’ strength – their underclassmen.

The Trojans came through on Friday at the 51st Annual Valpo Relays by winning the Frosh-Soph competition (138 points). Valparaiso finished second with 124, while Mishawaka was a distant third (66).

The varsity finished fourth overall with 72 points. Valparaiso took top honors (134), followed by Mishawaka (106) and LaPorte (75).

“When we look at the Frosh-Soph meet, we won seven events,” Snyder said. “That’s very exciting for us and it bodes well for the future. We’ve looked at building for the future, this year and beyond.”

Chesterton’s domination came across the board as they took first place finishes on the field and on the track.

“We scored where I thought we would,” Snyder said. ‘I looked at some things and actually thought we might score more. I didn’t have any surprises.”

Individual winners for the Trojans included David Osborn (1,600), Thomas Halpin (3,200) and Jacob Holth (110 Hurdles).

In relays, Chesterton took top honors in the 4x400 with Cole Galloway, Remy Lewis, Jon Watson and Chris Robinson (3:34.88). The 4x800 quartet of Ryan Cutter, Andrew Morris, Ian Smith and Jon Rogers (9:22.40) also won.

The Shuttle Hurdle Relay of Holton, Joe Raffin, Will Butz and Robinson won (1:08.36), as did the Distance Medley group of Chris Noel, Cole Galloway, Ethan Hall and Osborn (11:12.74).

“Our 4x400 was two seconds off the frosh-soph record,” Snyder said. “We were very close to a lot of records. The Shuttle Hurdle group was two seconds off the record from the Merrillville group with the (Roosevelt and Ronneal) Williams’ brothers.”

In the field events, Chesterton also took first place in the high jump (Remy Lewis, Kody Galloway), the long jump (Matt Kollar, Taylor Brown) and the shot put (Dan Dellumo, David Raffin).

“Matt Kollar and Taylor Brown PR’d in the long jump,” Snyder said. “Dan Dellumo and David Raffin in the shot put are going to be very good.”

In all, Snyder was happy to see his team compete against other athletes their own age.

“In a way, this was a big meet for us,” Snyder said. “You like to see where you stand against kids your own age. We’ve been running those kids against juniors and seniors all year.”

In the varsity competition, the Trojans didn’t win an event, but turned in some top performances.

“It was a good opportunity for some of our other older kids to compete,” Snyder said. “Going into conference and the postseason, only the top kids are going to compete. For some of them, this was their last meet.”

Valparaiso Relays

AT VALPARAISO

Team Scores

1. Valparaiso 134, 2. Mishawaka 106, 3. LaPorte 75, 4. Chesterton 72, 5. SB Washington 59, 6. Highland 40.

Individual Results

100 – 1. Scott Shimala (V), 11.06. 1,600 – 1. Tyler Toll (L), 4:33.63. 3,200 – 1. Craig Padgett (M), 10:03.30. 110 HUR – 1. Jacob Holth (C), 15.84. THROWER RELAY – 1. Mishawaka, 50.27. 4x100 RELAY – 1. Valparaiso, 43.36. 4x400 RELAY – 1. Valparaiso, 3:26.59. 4x800 RELAY – 1. Mishawaka, 8:30.40. 800 SPRINT MEDLEY – 1. Valparaiso, 1:35.85. DISTANCE MEDLEY – 1. LaPorte, 11:06.15. SHUTTLE HURDLE RELAY – 1. Valparaiso, 1:10.03. HJ – 1. Hills-Martin (V), 12-3. PV – 1. Malone-Dobson (V), 24-0. LJ – 1. Wunder, Martin (V), 42-9. SP – 1. Ellis-Goodaker (V), 94-8. DIS – Groendke-Banke (M), 290-0.

Frosh-Soph

Team Scores

1. Chesterton 138, 2. Valparaiso 124, 3. Mishawaka 66, 4. LaPorte 58, 5. Highland 40, 6. SB Washington 28.

Individual Results

100 – 1. Nick Thompson (V), 11.12. 1,600 – 1. David Osborn (C), 4:36.27. 3,200 – 1. Thomas Halpin (C), 10:40.73. 110 HUR – 1. Trinosky (V), 15.90. THROWER RELAY – 1. Mishawaka, 51.25. 4x100 RELAY – 1. SB Washington, 45.30. 4x400 RELAY – 1. Chesterton (Cole Galloway, Remy Lewis, Jon Watson, Chris Robinson), 3:34.88. 800 SPRINT MEDLEY – 1. Valparaiso, 1:42.11. DISTANCE MEDLEY – 1. Chesterton (Chris Noel, Cole Galloway, Ethan Hall, David Osborn), 11:12.24. SHUTTLE HURDLE RELAY – 1. Chesterton (Jacob Holth, Joe Raffin, Will Butz, Chris Robinson), 1:08.36. HJ – 1. Remy Lewis-Kody Calloway (C), 11-0. PV – Niel-O’Flanigan (V), 18-6. LJ – Matt Kollar-Taylor Brown (C), 39-4 1¦4. SP – 1. Dan Dellumo-David Raffin (C), 87-11. DIS – Corydell-Gasaway (V), 224-6.

Posted 5/5/2008